House OKs Violence Against Women Act

WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to pass the Senate's bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, in a big victory for President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress.

The legislation passed on a vote of 286-138, with 199 Democrats joining 87 Republicans to push the reauthorization of the landmark 1994 law, which assists victims of domestic and sexual violence, across the finish line.

Though the reauthorization passed the Senate earlier this month with 78 votes — including those of every woman, all Democrats and just over half of Republicans — a version unveiled by the House last Friday immediately came under sharp criticism from Democrats and women's and human rights groups for failing to include certain provisions offered in the Senate bill.

The House bill excluded specific protections for gay, bisexual or transgender victims of domestic abuse — eliminating "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" from a list of "underserved populations" that face barriers to receiving victim services — and stripped certain provisions regarding Native American women on reservations.

Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader, had committed to passing the legislation in the House only with bipartisan support. On Tuesday night, with House Democrats firmly united against the Republication version, the House Rules Committee approved a bifurcated process to consider the Senate legislation; on Thursday, the House first voted on its substitute amendment and then, when that version failed to pass, it took up and passed the Senate version.

On Thursday, Democrat after Democrat stood on the House floor, urging their colleagues to reject what they said was the weaker House version and to vote for the underlying Senate-passed bill.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., a victim of domestic and sexual violence, spoke passionately about the need to pass the Senate's reauthorization bill.

"I pray that this body will do as the Senate has done and come together as one to protect all women from violence," Moore said. "As I think about the LGBT victims who are not here, the native women who are not here, the immigrants who aren't in this bill, I would say, as Sojourner Truth would say, 'Ain't they women?' "

"Ain't they women?" she repeated, emphatically.

Republicans said that their version of the bill included protections for "all women," a point they repeatedly made on the House floor Thursday.

Earlier this month, more than 1,300 women's and human rights groups signed a letter supporting the more comprehensive Senate legislation.